State, Chautauqua County look at summer projects

July 2, 2013

Chautauqua County has several projects it has been and will continue to work on in the coming months. Additionally, New York State Department of Transportation has eight projects currently under construction in the county.

"The biggest project that we have going on this year is the construction of the Millennium Parkway," said George Spanos, director of Public Facilities. "It's in the city of Dunkirk, town of Dunkirk and town of Sheridan."

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OBSERVER?Photo by Diane R. Chodan

Preliminary work on the Millennium Parkway is progressing in Dunkirk on Talcott Street.

The Millennium Parkway project, Spanos said, is federally funded, with 80 percent of the cost being picked up at the federal level, and 20 percent covered by state and local funds. The Department of Public Facilities has been designated as the acting project sponsor for the project, which totals $6.3 million.

Additionally, the county has begun its highway resurfacing program, which includes chip sealing or oil-and-stone surface treatment and the resurfacing of more than 85 miles of roads throughout the county. However, according to Spanos, the project is not going well.

"It started, but it's not going very well," Spanos said. "The weather conditions are horrible for construction season. The excessive rain has really limited our operations for construction."

The projects the state has under construction include bridge work, sign replacement and pavement marking work and landscaping.

BRIDGE WORK

The state currently has four bridge projects under construction in Chautauqua County, two of which include bridge cleaning.

"Bridges are cleaned to diminish the future need for maintenance by removing salt and debris to prevent corrosion, improve drainage and ensure the bridge bearings are free of contaminants," according to NYSDOT.

The first project is scheduled to end Oct. 31, at which point the public will have full and unrestricted use and benefit of the facilities both from the operational and safety standpoint. The project is currently on-budget at $280,000, which includes state and federal funds. The project includes Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, including Dunkirk, Ellicott, Franklinville and Olean.

The second bridge-cleaning project is scheduled to end Nov. 6. The project has a budget of $598,000 and includes Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Erie and Niagara counties. It also includes Boston, Elma, Lewiston and Tonawanda.

Another bridge project the state is undertaking is bridge repair.

"This project will perform corrective maintenance work on five bridges at various locations in Cattara-ugus and Chautauqua counties. Corrective maintenance work involving steel repair is planned for the State Route 430 bridge over Dewittville Creek, State Route 98 bridge over Ischua Creek and State Route 353 bridge over Little Valley Creek.

Corrective maintenance work involving bridge rail replacement is planned for State Route 219 bridge over Crowley Creek and State Route 242 bridge over Great Valley Creek," according to NYSDOT.

The project is scheduled to conclude Dec. 31, with the public having full access by Jan. 13, 2014. It has a budget of $850,000, which includes state and federal funds.

Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties are included in the project, as are Chautauqua, Ellicott-ville, Franklinville and Little Valley.

The final and largest bridge work project - with a budget of $14,662,000 - is the replacement of the State Route 5 and US Route 20 Bridge over Cattaraugus Creek.

"The existing bridge is approaching the end of its useful life. It has inadequate vertical clearance for large trucks, and the bridge sidewalks do not meet federal standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The proposed project will replace the existing truss bridge with a wider, multi-girder bridge, on a slightly modified alignment. The new bridge will be wide enough to provide one travel lane in each direction. It will accommodate bicyclists and have sidewalks on both sides," according to NYSDOT.

The project is federally and state funded. It is scheduled to be completed June 29, 2015.

SIGN REPLACEMENT

Aside from bridge work being done in the county, sign replacement will also be taking place in certain locations.

"This project will replace signs that are damaged, have fallen down, have no reflectivity for nighttime visibility, and will correct safety and operational issues as needed on State Route 198 from the I-190 to State Route 33 in the city of Buffalo, and replace large mounted signs on State Route 400 in the towns of West Seneca Elma and Aurora," according to NYSDOT.

Additionally, signs will be replaced at various locations throughout Chautau-qua, Erie and Niagara counties.

The cost of the project is $603,000, which is $11,000 more than the original estimate. The cost will be covered by state and federal funding. The sign replacement project is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 30.

PAVEMENT MARKINGS

Another project the New York State Department of Transportation has under construction this year revolves around pavement markings.

"This project will replace durable pavement markings that have deteriorated due to maintenance operations - plowing, patching - and wear due to high traffic volumes and install Centerline Audible Roadway Delineators at various locations in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties," according to NYSDOT.

The pavement marking project is scheduled to wrap up by Oct. 31. The cost of the project is $984,000 in state and federal funding. Affected by the project are Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, as well as Gerry and Conewango.

LANDSCAPING AND STANDBY PROJECTS

The final project the state is just completing includes landscaping projects.

"This project will address various environmental and landscaping management needs at various locations throughout all four counties in the region," according to NYSDOT.

According to NYSDOT, the project was scheduled to end June 10. The cost was $549,000 in state funding. Included in the landscaping project were Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Erie and Nia-gara counties. It also included Buffalo and Niagara Falls, and the villages of Fredonia and Randolph. Towns included in the project were Allegany, Amherst, Boston, Clarence, Concord, Hamburg, Randolph, Tonawanda and Yorkshire.

NYSDOT is also on standby for projects in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Erie and Niagara counties. It is involved in a standby project for emergency highway repairs at various locations throughout the four counties.

The project is expected to cost $459,000, and conclude Dec. 31, 2014. The only source of funding comes from New York state.

COUNTY PROJECTS

According to County Executive Greg Edwards' "Monday Morning Memo," there is a fair amount of construction work being done currently in Chautauqua County.

Since April 15, Chautauqua County Bridge No. 134 on County Route 4, Marks Road, in the Town of French Creek between Bush Road and County Route 7 has been closed to all traffic due to the replacement of the structure. A detour has been posted.

Additionally, since June 24, County Bridge 1108 on Mixer Road in the Village of Forestville has been closed to all traffic due to the replacement of the structure. A detour has also been posted.

This week, residents in Celoron will experience tree trimming along Livingston Avenue Ditching work will also be done along county Route 380 in Ellery.

There will be ditching and shoulder repair from Friday's storm on County Route 37-Beech Hill Road in Stockton; on County Route 380 in Portland; and on Lake Avenue in Brocton.

There will be oil and stone patching on County Route 85-Creek Road in Arkwright, as well as on County Route 72-Cassadaga Hamlet Road in Villenova. Crews will also be reconstructing County Bridge 1108 on Mixer Road in Hanover.

Finally, there will be black topping on county Route 2 from Clymer to State Route 426 and shoulders and drainage work on County Route 3 in Findley Lake to State Route 426.